The initial sign the local man had of his predicament was when a neighbor loudly knocked on his door and informed him his beloved Mini had plunged into a opening.
"I stepped outside anticipating a minor dip under a tire or something similar. But when I walked out to check it out, I realized, oh, that really is a significant cavity," he explained.
His vehicle had dropped into a 10-foot wide gap, likely created by a collapsed mine shaft, and McKenzie has spent 25 days stuck in a administrative "difficult situation" trying to figure out how to retrieve his car.
The Core Problem: Unregistered Land
The hitch is that the property has no registered owner. The local council has stated it can't remove the fences cordoning off the hole until property rights had been confirmed. "It's a bit of a nightmare," said McKenzie, 36, a freelance designer. "It's red tape everywhere."
McKenzie has lived in the area in Redruth for about 10 years and in fact has a designated spot next to his house, but it is not wide enough to be practical so he started leaving his car outside a local bakery. He had checked with both the shop and the local authority that he would avoid receiving a parking fine.
"I had finally reached a point like I was making progress, I had a reliable small vehicle that was fuel-efficient and easy to keep on the road. It signified I could finally focus on trying to put money aside to take my daughter on her aspirational journey to Japan someday. She's always wanted to go."
The Event and Consequences
Then came that knock on the door on Saturday 1 November. "The person next door was quite panicked. The police arrived and secured the zone off. We all had to stay in the houses because we can't get out without going past the collapse. The highways people arrived, put the barrier up, and then they came out and placed a second fence up surrounding it as well."
It is thought the hole may be an unfortunate remnant of Pednandrea Mine, a disused mining site.
McKenzie believed he would be without his car for a short period. But days have now become weeks.
A Potential Resolution
An conclusion may be approaching. The council has said it will cooperate with McKenzie to – temporarily – lift the fences to allow the Mini to be recovered. He commented: "They are willing to assist my insurance company's recovery team and try to arrange a date and an suitable way of extracting it that ensures no anybody at risk."
The vehicle has been significantly harmed and is likely to be declared a total loss. "At least I can say my Mini went out in style – not everyone can claim their car was swallowed by the ground beneath them," McKenzie noted.
Council Response
A representative from the authorities said it felt sorry with McKenzie. But it added: "The ground giving way did not occur on council land. We have secured the location and advised the car owner that we will organize to lift the fence to enable him to retrieve the vehicle.
"Since no one owns the land, our barriers will remain in place until property ownership has been determined, and we will persist to monitor the vicinity to guarantee everyone's security."
